On 1st October, we were delighted to announce that our Director & Solicitor, Georgina Parkin, is Truth Legal’s new managing director.
Georgina takes over the day-to-day running of the firm from founder Andrew Gray, who will remain very much involved as he continues to develop Truth Legal into one of the UK’s most respected law firms.
Here we speak with Georgina to find out a little more about her, what makes her tick and how she sees Truth Legal progressing over the next few years.
Congratulations on your new appointment Georgina, tell us a bit about yourself and what your journey to becoming Truth Legal MD has involved?
“I have worked for Truth Legal since October 2013. I qualified as a solicitor in April 2015 and I have previously worked for Minster Law, BLM’s Leeds office and DWF’s Leeds office as a Paralegal. In the six years I have worked for Truth Legal I have become a specialist in personal injury. I am delighted to be taking up the position of Managing Director at our Harrogate firm of solicitors.”
How would you describe your work for Truth Legal to date and what have you learnt?
“Part of my job is to deal with the ‘difficult conversations’. Sometimes I have to give advice to clients they do not want to hear but if I did not provide them with that advice, I would not be doing my job properly. That is perhaps the part that I find most challenging. But there are also rewarding aspects too. Towards the end of a prolonged, hard fought and difficult case, being able to advise the client that the Defendant is finally prepared to consider settlement, is really nice. And then being able to send the client their compensation cheque when the case has settled, makes all the hard work and the difficult situations worthwhile.
I have learnt that I should never burn any bridges. The legal sector is a small world and you never know what connections you might need. It can also be quite an isolated and cut throat business, so I try and create my own opportunities for growth. That is a piece of advice I was given that has proven very useful, and I would say the same to anyone just starting out now.”
You have become a personal injury specialist in your time at Truth Legal, what changes have you seen in that sector in your time at the company?
“In general, I would say the changes have been detrimental. The introduction of the MOJ portals for low value personal injury claims and fixed costs has, in my opinion, resulted in many firms not providing the same quality of service that they would have done prior to April 2013. We are regularly contacted by potential clients with complex, often life-changing injuries whose case is being dealt with at another firm by a junior, unsupervised and unqualified member of staff.
One of the founding principles that Andrew has instilled at Truth Legal is a specific standard of legal assistance, and I will be working hard to ensure that is maintained under any circumstances. It is important to me that Truth Legal provides a quality service and that cases are run by a lawyer with an appropriate level of experience.”
What are your feelings today as you start in your new role as the MD of Truth Legal?
“I am delighted to have been promoted to the role of managing director of Truth Legal. I commenced my career with Truth Legal in 2013 as a trainee solicitor and it has been great to see and assist with the growth of the firm and at the same time to see similar growth in my career.
The ethos behind Truth Legal has always been important to me, and I am proud that we continue to help so many people to obtain access to justice and that we provide an ethical, human and affordable service.”
How are you looking to develop Truth Legal?
“I will be focusing on ensuring the smooth running of the office on a day-to-day basis to keep all our employees and consultants happy. I will also be taking on a regulatory role in respect of Truth Legal’s finance and administrative affairs.
On a more strategic level, I look forward to continuing to work with the other directors to support the continued growth of Truth Legal and the diversifying of the services and expertise we are able to offer. In that respect there are some more niche areas of law that the organisation hasn’t really specialised in yet, such as wills and probate and immigration law. These are obviously very popular and there is an everyday need for these services from our public, so we are looking to expand into these areas of law also, and one of my challenges is to develop that.”
We wish Georgina the best of luck in her new role, and with a brilliant team around her, and knowing her skills, knowledge and experience already, we are confident she will make a great success of the role and continue to grow Truth Legal; the honest and ethical solicitors.
Further Reading
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